This proposal requests partial support for a Gordon Research Conference on Periodontal Disease to be held August 2 -7, 2009 at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire. The broad and long term goal of the conference is to increase our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms involved in the initiation, progression, and prevention of periodontal diseases. The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene 28 speakers that represent critical scientific fields that directly affect periodontal disease research with a total of 135 participants for a five-day conference in a relatively isolated setting. An important feature of the meeting will be presentations relevant to these topics by leading scientists from outside the field of periodontology in addition to expert contributions from within the discipline. Academic and industrial participants are welcome and all are strongly encouraged to present their most recent unpublished findings as posters. Ample time has been allotted for poster sessions and a number of posters will be selected for short oral presentations during the conference. Furthermore applications are welcomed from graduate students and young postdoctoral scientists and it is anticipated that travel awards will be awarded to selected participants. The program will have eight sessions that broadly address current issues in periodontal disease such as microbial genomics, virulence characteristics of oral microorganisms, bacterial biofilm dynamics, host-microbe recognition, innate immunity, cell signaling, controlling inflammation, epigenetic changes and microRNA control of host responses, antigen presentation and the specific immune response, mechanisms of wound healing and stem cells and tissue regeneration. The significance of this application is that the Gordon Research Conference on Periodontal Disease is a critical opportunity to promote growth, development, and open communication of frontier developments in science among investigators, young scientists in development, and other persons responsible for the growth of science in the international community of scientific researchers. The health relatedness of this application is that the Conference will generate and define the questions that require experimental resolution in areas that affect the initiation, progression, host susceptibility, and therapeutic modalities for the treatment of periodontal diseases. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The health relatedness of this application is that the discussions of current research will generate and define the questions that require experimental resolution in areas that affect the initiation, progression, host susceptibility, and therapeutic modalities for the treatment of periodontal diseases. These discussions will focus researchers identifying the mechanisms controlling periodontal diseases and developing therapies based on these mechanisms.